Synelmis cf. albini ( Langerhans, 1881 )

Salazar-Vallejo, Sergio I., 2003, Revision of Synelmis Chamberlin, 1919 (Annelida, Polychaeta, Pilargidae), Zoosystema 25 (1), pp. 17-42 : 38

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5392022
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1C7A6034-FF8D-D033-5A70-246D480C0676
treatment provided by	Marcus
scientific name	Synelmis cf. albini ( Langerhans, 1881 )
status

Treatment

Synelmis cf. albini ( Langerhans, 1881) View in CoL

? Synelmis cf. albini – Wolf 1984: 29.35, figs 29.31, 29.32.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Gulf of Mexico. RV Columbus Iselin , stn 2532, 29°45’56.5”N, 86°12’20.5”W, 52 m, 1 complete specimen ( USNM 55816).

DISTRIBUTION. — Restricted to two localities off Florida at 37-52 m water depth ( Wolf [1984] record is from a nearby station at 37 m).

DESCRIPTION

Body damaged, pale with black glandular areas ventrally in median and posterior setigers. It is complete, 5 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, with 50 setigers. Prostomium with palps biarticulated, well separated from each other, with small ventral papillae. Antennae fusiform, laterals placed about the middle of prostomium. One pair of eyes, single, dorsal. Tentacular and parapodial cirri fusiform. Dorsal cirri become shorter in median and posterior setigers. First notospine in setiger 8. Pygidium with two ventral anal cirri. Pharynx is about eight setigers long.

REMARKS

Synelmis cf. albini is morphologically similar to S. sotoi n. sp.; they differ in that the former has only two big eyes and notospines start from setiger 8. It also seems to live in mixed bottoms and not in coral-reef environments. This specimen might include the record by Wolf (1984) of S. cf. albini , which was coming from a very close site, but he noticed that in his only specimen (9 mm long) notospines start in setiger 5. If those two specimens belong to the same species, their variability might fit what is known in other Synelmis species ; however, the difference in the number of eyes between this apparently undescribed species and S. sotoi n. sp. is beyond what has been observed in other species. It might be that the basic pattern is a single pair or eyes that might increase its number with body enlargement, but this has not been seen in any other species. More and better specimens would allow a better recognition of these matters.